


buttercream kisses

by narusena



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Baking, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Happy Birthday Izumi!, Izu's not super tsundere towards the end oops, Izumi "That picture of me is worth more than your phone" Sena, Ritsu is very brief but he is there, Ritsu's sleepy, and personally, anyway, i think thats a crime, shy kisses, so heres a little kissy. as a treat!, there are not enough narusena fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27346957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/narusena/pseuds/narusena
Summary: after weeks of keeping to himself, izumi gets dragged from his room by a unit mate to try and help him feel better after the aftermath of their unit leader leaving.it results in some awkward smiles and maybe a kiss.-happy birthday izumi!
Relationships: Narukami Arashi/Sena Izumi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	buttercream kisses

**Author's Note:**

> hi!  
> okay, i adore the two of these but this is sort of my first fic im posting publicly, so we'll see how it goes
> 
> i love the dynamic between the two and would love to work with them more often (and will likely end up doing so!).
> 
> posting this just in time for izumi birthday. happy birthday!!

Birthdays were typically a pain, especially in a school like Yumenosaki. Everyone knew everyone, and as such- everyone knew birthdays. For most people it was just a bit more congestion in the hallway to deal with, or it meant a unit being a little more vocal than usual during the day. All of the consequences were minimal, and birthdays- although annoying- passed smoothly enough. It was nice to be fussed over on your birthday, made to feel special in a school which preached the competition between peers. As such, when it was one of her friends, Arashi Narukami was determined to make sure that the people she was closed to had a birthday they could be happy with.

Something like that was not accomplished with presents, cards, or even a loudly shouted ‘happy birthday’ in the halls. Rather, she set out to accomplish that with love. A sign that she truly cared for the person whom she was dedicating her time to.

This was especially true when it came to Mika. Mika, who had been her friend for some time now, deserved to have someone care for him on a day like this. The idea had come to her a few days before his birthday, and she was spurred on by the idea that his ‘Oshi-san’ likely wouldn’t be doing anything similar for him. Well, not that she knew. With how he seemed to treat poor Mika, judging by what he spoke of, she could only assume as much.

The idea in question was to bake cupcakes for Mika. She thought it would be a nice way to celebrate. Even if she was a little late.

Now, she was no expert on baking, or cupcakes, or birthdays for that matter, but she did know of at least one person who was! Perhaps if she was kind enough, Ritsu would help her bake- or at the very least, he could share a recipe with her. That was the easiest part of this whole mission. He offered to tag along and help (as much help as a sleeping knight would be) and Arashi knew that she had one thing checked off her list. 

Ingredients were just as easy, if not easier, and finally, a few days before she had planned to actually bake, she had to face the most difficult challenge of all.

Convincing Izumi Sena to go along with her idea.

Of course, he was the first choice she had for a baking partner. Sure, she was a little biased, he was in her unit after all (and despite his annoyance towards everyone she wanted to be his friend), but she had a multitude of other reasons for wanting to invite him along. As well as the odd feelings in her chest whenever he was around, she also had noticed something odd. Well, odd wasn’t the right word. Almost upsetting. She knew he had gone through some things in the previous year, but he had been isolating himself for so long. She had made a point to check on him (both on her own, and through word of mouth from those he shared a dorm with) but she thought that getting him out and moving would be a good step.

The difficulties with this plan didn’t register until she had talked to Morisawa. One of the people in his dorms who had explained that he needed to wedge himself by the door frame before Sena could slam it shut on him. Not that it stopped him from trying, leaving Chiaki with a red mark on his shoulder from the door.

Still, he had continued trying. So, Arashi decided she might as well try. If not for her own sake, then for Izumi’s.

Standing in front of his door took quite a bit of courage, and she reached up to knock. An annoyed grumble from inside alerted her to the fact that he was in there, and she felt her hopes rise ever so slightly. 

The door opened the slightest bit, and the peek she could see inside Izumi’s room was dark. Drawn curtains and no lights. A blue eye seemed to glare at her from behind the crack, and she heard a muttered “ _ You. _ ” before the door was promptly closed in her face.

A frown crossed her face at that, brows upturning as she almost  _ pouted _ at the now-closed door. “How rude..” She muttered, shaking her head.

This became routine for a few days, and finally -- the day before she had planned to bake cupcakes -- the door opened for more than a few seconds. Those vibrant blue eyes peeked at her from the crack, and rather than have the door slammed in her face again, a voice came out from behind the door.

His voice was cracked and broken like he hadn’t spoken properly in a while, quiet like it hurt to think about speaking but still wholly Izumi. It held that ever-present annoyance, that slight anger at whatever was currently upsetting him.

“What do you want,  _ brat _ ?”

Confusion crossed her expressing, bringing her brows closer together for the briefest of moments before it seemed to relax, replaced with a slight tilt of her head and a gentle smile gracing her lips. Despite his anger, and frustration with her,  _ that _ part of his personality seemed to be intact. However, that didn’t completely erase everything else that seemed to be happening with him. Namely the isolation, but that had followed…

Well, that had followed Leo’s sudden disappearance. Arashi knew it had to be weighing on him, heavily at that. The two were close. Well, from what she knew anyway. Close didn’t seem quite right but..

Dependent hit a little too close to those emotions she could sense.

“Me? A brat?” It was a little too easy to pretend to play dumb, eyes widening slightly as she stared at her unit mate. Perhaps her typical teasing would be the right path, but she wouldn’t know until she-

“Yeah. You. What do you want?” Oh. It seemed that it hadn’t worked. Not that Arashi minded. There were plenty of other ways to try and speak to Izumi, but.. this situation was a little different. There were many factors that she couldn’t quite calculate on her own, and her only way to make sense of them was to.. well, try them out.

“Well…” The blonde trailed off, before meeting eyes with her unit member once more. “I was hoping for your help. I’m planning on-”

Her words were cut off rather quickly, with a harsh scoff from the boy in front of her. He followed the sound with a roll of his eyes, and she felt the rejection set into her heart. Still, she couldn’t let that deter her! She had come on a mission and she’d be damned if she didn’t at least partially complete the mission she had originally set out for.   
  


Before he could even muster a quiet ‘not interested’, she jumped back in with her own explanation. A soft smile on her face, in some attempt to be reassuring, as she spoke.

“Like I was saying-” Cheeky as ever, “I was hoping to bake cupcakes for a friend’s birthday. And I thought you’d be the perfect one to help.”

“Kuma-kun.” Was the stilted answer she received, and she bit back a laugh, answer already prepared.

“Done! He’s helping with the recipe. But I need a kitchen helper who won’t be asleep.”

“What about that.. friend of yours? Itsuki’s unit mate.”

“Cupcakes are for him!”

Izumi’s top lip twitched as he bit back the urge to scowl, nose twitching in frustration. He’d been backed in a corner with nowhere else to escape. 

“C’mon, Izumi-chan. Please?” She made sure to drag out that last syllable  _ just _ enough to sound as if she were pleading, and if the puppy dog eyes on her were anything like she thought they were then he’d have t-

“Fine.” Another pointed eye-roll came from him, but Arashi counted that as a win. Her face brightened into a grin once more, and she’d have immediately thrown her arms around him if she wasn’t being extra cautious today.

… She’d cave and likely do it while they were baking anyway.

“Thank you, thank you!” A laugh escaped her, spilling from her mouth before she had the chance to stop it. 

As she turned to leave, she could hear him mumbling something about “doing it out of politeness”, but getting him out of his dorm was better than nothing.. right? Not to mention. She thought he’d enjoy it enough. Either would be a win in her book!

That led to where she was now. Having texted Izumi the time and details the day before, she simply had to make sure he showed up, and then make sure that baking went smoothly. A process that was a little easier said than done.

She had no doubts that he’d be avoiding leaving until the last minute, so showing up a little earlier than she’d asked him to be out of his room was a must. She raised a hand, knocking on the door until she heard a mumbled “coming” from within the room. The door opened before her, showing a seemingly annoyed but awake Izumi. She grinned, and he seemed to falter. She caught a roll of his eyes as he turned away, shutting the door as he continued to get ready. 

Another few moments passed before the door opened again, and even if he didn’t look  _ quite _ as put together as she’d expected from her fellow model, he looked ready to go. She reached out, thinking of tugging him along by his wrist before she thought better of the idea. With everything that had happened, she didn’t want to scare him off by reaching for any physical contact. She let her arm drop by her side, motioning for the grey-haired boy to follow her as she began walking. Reaching the kitchen was little effort after that, and she made casual small talk along the way. She spoke mostly on herself, giving him chances to interject but getting little more than one-word answers from him. 

Once they walked in, she was pleasantly surprised to see Ritsu still awake. 

“Ritsu-chan!” Her voice was as bright as ever, and he offered a sleepy wave before the hand moved to cover his mouth in a yawn. 

He moved to grab a piece of paper from the counter, pushing it towards the pair that had just walked in. Arashi seemed to brighten, darting over to it and reading over it. She was sure she could make it look cute, and with Izumi there (if he bothered to help decorate) she was also sure that his design help would be more than enough.

The vampire settled into a seat by the counter, eyes already drifting shut as Naru began to chat. She tied an apron around herself, reaching up to brush her hair out of her face before the pair began to work. Izumi had been wrangled into an apron, and he begrudgingly began to follow the instructions on the sheet in front of them.

Ritsu had managed to drift off into a seemingly deep sleep, and there was little talk between them other than the soft humming of some Knights song (Izumi didn’t quite recognize what Arashi was humming, but chose not to ask -- some solo perhaps?) or a question to pass some ingredient one way or another. 

Arashi spoke little, for fear of overwhelming Izumi so soon after a large event, and Izumi seemed somewhat grateful, seeming as though he was in little mood to talk properly between the two of them. 

The cupcakes themselves were done soon enough, popped into the oven, and leaving the two to talk. A vague superficial discussion that began to shift, Arashi bouncing around the topics of their not so recently departed leader while joking with Izumi about various model and idol things, and Izumi occasionally calling Arashi a brat for her teasing statements.

As the conversation moved and shifted, the two seemed to be growing a little closer. Of course, having known each other since childhood helped, but seeing Izumi begin to open up a bit warmed something in Arashi’s heart. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes though, and Arashi took the chance to ask:   
  
“Are you okay?” The question punctuated by a little tilt of her head.   
  
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He grumbled, “Don’t see an issue.”   
  
Hesitant to leave it at that, she stepped a little closer. She leaned down ever so slightly, eye to eye with him. “You seem upset.”   
  
He stepped back, tearing his gaze away from Arashi. He didn’t speak for a moment, struggling to sum up his thoughts. “No.” He grumbled, “It’s whatever.” His eyes landed on the recipe again, and he changed the topic. “Shouldn’t we be making frosting?”   
  
That drew a frown from her, “You’re changing the topic, Izumi-chan.” She said, and he once more chose not to respond. 

He walked to get the ingredients, and she chose not to press the topic just yet. He gathered things together, and she moved to his side to begin to help. He hovered just by her, not quite making contact as the two worked somewhat in sync.    
  
It’d be another few moments before the cupcakes were out, but she did turn to Izumi to say something. He turned at a similar time, and she reached up to swipe her finger on his nose. 

A grin broke out on her face, icing smeared across the model's nose. He paused for a moment, face shifting from confusion, to realization, to annoyance in the span of a few seconds.

A bright giggle escaped her, and she couldn’t help but brighten at the sight. She took out her phone quickly, but not before it was snatched from her hand. She soon found herself with powdered sugar dusting her apron, some of it landing in her hair and on her face. She gasped at the sudden offense, “Izumi-ch-” She could hardly get through her protests before more was flicked at her, and she reached out to smear another line of frosting on his cheek. 

She laughed again, managing to snatch her phone back in a heartbeat and snap a picture of Izumi. For good measure, she turned the phone and snapped a picture of both of them. He seemed to be riled up, arguing against it. 

“Ex _cuse_ _me_.” He said quickly, reaching for the device. “Do you _know_ how much a picture of me is worth, Naru-kun?” He asked, and as Arashi fought to keep the device from his hands, she was taken by surprise.

The smallest action had surprised her, a grin flickering across Izumi’s lips. Her breath caught in her throat, phone grabbed by Izumi, and yanked away. He tried his hardest to get past the passcode, stuck on her lockscreen as she stood there speechless.

He tilted his head at her, and she answered easily. “Your uh. Smile.” She said, cheeks brightening. She shifted, taking a slight step closer and leaning so the two could be eye to eye. “It’s pretty, act-”   
  
The pair was cut off by the timer, both of them tensing up. She had to laugh, the loud sound disrupting any modicum of conversation between the two of them.

She rushed to the oven, pulling out the still-hot cupcakes and setting them aside. She slid off the oven mitts, letting them cool down as she turned back to Izumi.   
  
“Now- What were we on about?”   
  
Arashi felt her cheeks brighten, red spreading to the tips of her ears.   
“Your smile, y’know?” She asked, “It’s nice.”   
  
Izumi seemed to pause, breath catching in his throat as he forced himself to look away. He leaned back, catching the edge of the counter as he did so. 

“Ah. Is that so?” Perhaps it was a mix of confidence and uncertainty, but having known Arashi for so long he liked to think he could read her well enough. He seemed to have caught the blush, taking a step towards her. A grin flickered on his lips once more, gone in a heartbeat, and replaced with his usual annoyance. 

Arashi nodded, back already against the counter. 

She’s the one who made the first move, leaning down and looking him in the eyes. She tilted her head slightly, thinking of what was going on. “Can I.. kiss you?” She asked, swallowing nervously. 

“Y-Yeah..” Despite the certainty in his posture and gaze, his voice shook like he was worried.

She leaned down, and after a moment she leaned forward. She pressed slightly into the kiss, eyes fluttering shut for a few moments.

What dragged her back to reality was a yawn and a loud groan, Arashi quickly pulling back and looking away.    
  
Izumi seemed to be much the same, red contrasting his cooler color palette. Both of their gazes flicked to Ritsu, back to one another, and then back to the vampire.

The false alarm had shocked them both back to reality, silent as they looked at one another.

  
A moment passed, then two, and a sigh of relief left both of them. They laughed, Naru’s bright laughter filling the air with Izumi’s quiet breath.   
  
It was very little, Izumi’s mood not quite back to usual, but it was there. The quiet air between the two was comfortable even after the moment had passed between them. 

Arashi knew it wasn’t a cure-all, nothing would be. Getting Izumi back to normal would be a slow process. But if she was the first to see that smile after months, she wouldn’t complain, nor would she push him to feel better immediately. She’d just have to keep working to be able to see it again.

After all, maybe that little crush on Kunugi had gone nowhere, but this one felt different. He really felt special, leaving a little flutter in Arashi’s heart at the end of the day.

So she was willing to put in the effort, even if it meant she’d have to work a little harder. 

The cupcakes were cooled enough soon after, decorated by the two. Neither of them were bakers by any means, but they were cute! She looked at the finished products with a grin on her face, ecstatic as she looked at Izumi.

He chuckled, and she nudged him with an elbow. Her smile softened as she looked at him, and after another moment the two tore their eyes away from one another. 

When Ritsu woke soon after, she didn’t mention the smile or the brief kiss shared between them, and she didn’t share much of the interaction. She just walked away a little lighter, plans to drag Izumi back out of his dorm already brewing in her mind.

…

[New Message in “Knights”]

Naru-chan: image0.jpg

Naru-chan: Enjoy~!

[Izumi Sena has kicked Naru-kun from the chat]

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> kudos, comments, feedback, anything appreciated!


End file.
